Chirps from Center Ice

Penguins roll into Hershey tonight and win 3-1. A place that used to stymie the Penguins before in the past and look, eight straight wins in Giant Center if you go back to last year. Big win for Wilkes-Barre too. Statement win I think.

Brad Thiessen vs. Braden Holtby

First Period: Zach Miskovic held Ben Street and in the power play Jason Williams set up Brian Gibbons for the goal. Really the first half of the period was all Wilkes-Barre just dictating the pace and play. Then a scary moment with Eric Tangradi getting what looked like blindsided by Sean Collins. Long and short of this would see Tangradi go to the locker room but have no ill effects. First time this season that the Bears would be held scoreless in the first period.

Second Period: Pens would get a brief period of 5-on-3 hockey but the Bears would shake it off. Then, during four-on-four action, Simon Despres would score his first pro goal on a slapshot which beat Holtby. Bryan Lerg assisted on the goal and this is a five game point streak for Mr. Lerg. Then, Lerg would score to make it 3-0 after a nice tic-tac-toe pass from Paul Thompson. Bears would continue the undisciplined hockey with Patrick McNeill taking a cross checking penalty which the Bears would kill off. Then later after a whistle the Bears would try more rough stuff with Keith Aucoin and Philip Samuelsson being featured on the AHL Live feed.

Third Period: Pens would just puck possess the period to death. Not without Keith Aucoin getting robbed by a sitting Brad Thiessen and Christian Hanson ringing it off of two goal posts in on a breakaway. Matt Ford would finally break 100+ minutes of Brad Thiessen shutout hockey with a goal. Hershey would pull Holtby but not score and the Pens would deal the Bears their first regulation loss of the weekend and get four out of a possible four points this weekend.

Really a dominating performance by the Penguins. Radio was talking about the video scout for the Pens breaking down four hours of Bears tape on the ride in from Springfield last night. Give that man a raise!

Three Stars: Colin McDonald (2 assists, +2) Brad Thiessen (27 saves on 28 shots) and Bryan Lerg (goal, assist, +2)

If Lerg is not in the conversation for AHL Player of the Week or Player of the Month there is something amiss. Lerg has played five straight games where he has scored multiple points.

Around the Division: Binghamton beats Norfolk 3-2 in a shootout despite being outshot 15-5 in the third period. Lake Erie finally gets in the win column in overtime beating Syracuse in the Salt City 3-2.

Standings: Tight. Hershey and Norfolk have 9 points each. Syracuse and Wilkes-Barre have 8 points each and Binghamton has 7 points in last place.

Seven games in, if you are telling me I am going to be one point out of first, I take it. No matter how we get there.

Tomorrow: Wilkes-Barre and Binghamton are off. Norfolk travels to Charlotte and Syracuse to Hershey.

Pens play again next Friday in Syracuse. Updates this week as they come.

Let’s Go Pens!